AEC Tech News (#250)

Running the risk of not satisfying review standards, the Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority (PRHTA) was in jeopardy of losing federal funding. By implementing a digital signature solution and requiring inspection staff to place their digital signatures on project documentation, PRHTA was able to increase employee accountability, eliminate fraudulent requests for certifications, and guarantee that payments were timely and accurate. As a result, the agency significantly improved its review standings, which removed the authority's high risk status and the possibility of losing federal funding.

As AEC firms attempt to alleviate the pains they encounter in collaborative work, many are turning to standards-based digital signature solutions to streamline and accelerate these business processes. Using digital signatures is saving tens of thousands of dollars with each project while expediting daily workflows and enabling faster project completion. Digital signatures also bring a quick return on investment (ROI), with annual cost savings reaching several hundred thousand dollars for some firms. Read more »

Your boss comes out of a meeting with an important new client. As the two pass your desk, your boss hands you a marked-up printout showing seven changes to the client’s design that must be implemented before they get back from lunch.

Before the two can finish putting on their coats, the printer spits out a revised drawing.

Your boss looks at the printout and says, "How would you like to join us for lunch?" -- making a mental note that you had even picked up on the revisions to the R2.000 and 4.500 dimensions that were necessary to match the revised diameter.

Are you a magician or a time traveler? No, but you are smart enough to have updated to AutoCAD 2010. AutoCAD now includes 2D parametric drawing functionality so anatomically correct changes are made to the drawing pretty much as quickly as you can enter new dimension values. Read more »

Mark Your Calendar: AEC Events

ESRI International User Conference
July 13-17, 2009
San Diego, California
The ESRI International User Conference (ESRI UC) provides an opportunity for ESRI users to extend their GIS skills and connect with the GIS community. Learn how to better leverage your current GIS investment and get face time with all areas of ESRI. Choose from hundreds of user presentations and gain essential knowledge from technical workshops. Read more »

SIGGRAPH 2009
August 3-7, 2009
New Orleans, Louisiana
SIGGRAPH is an international event on computer graphics and interactive techniques. Sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery, this five-day event includes educational opportunities and commercial exhibitions. Read more »

For a complete list of CAD meetings, conferences, training sessions, and more, check out our calendar of events on Cadalyst.com.

What’s New at Cadalyst.com

3D Printer Buyer's Guide
This new resource from Z Corp., available now in Cadalyst’s Whitepaper Library, describes how tough economic times make a powerful argument for investing in 3D printing. The paper explains how such investments can yield long-term strategic value -- enhancing design and speeding time to market – and conserve money now by raising throughput and reducing labor needs. This paper covers how 3D printer products differ; terminology; and how to quantify costs. Free to users who register.

Autodesk Technical Evangelist Lynn Allen guides you through a different AutoCAD feature in every edition of her popular "Circles and Lines" tutorial series. For even more AutoCAD how-to, check out Lynn's quick tips in the Cadalyst Video Gallery. Subscribe to Cadalyst's free Tips & Tools Weekly e-newsletter and we'll notify you every time a new video tip is published. All exclusively from Cadalyst!Follow Lynn on Twitter